The SS-Division Wiking in the Caucasus 1942-1943

In the summer of 1942, German forces resumed their attack on the Eastern Front, this time concentrating exclusively on the southern sector, with the objective of conquering Stalingrad and the Caucasus.

After having been engaged in the recapture of Rostov, the Wiking Division penetrated deeply into the Cuacasus, crossing many rivers that criss-crossed that area, facing thousands of ambushes and thousands of encounters against an enemy that was increasingly battle-tested, tough and impossible to pin down. Throughout this new campaign there lacked, in fact, the sweeping maneuvers of annihilation of the Soviet forces that had characterized the 1941 summer campaign. This time, the Soviet commands and soldiers learned to withdraw and regroup their forces in order to launch ferocious counterattacks, adding skill to their courage. Despite everything, the SS troops were able to reach the far-off Asiatic regions, threatening to reach the shores of the Caspian Sea. The terrain conditions, the strong enemy resistance, logistics problems and heavy losses slowed down the ambitions of the SS and of all of the German forces. With the deterioration of the situation on the Stalingrad front, the German forces in the Caucasus were forced to withdraw rapidly to avoid being trapped themselves and it was only due to the stoic stand made by Von Paulus’ German forces that enabled them to save themselves, given them time to pull back to the north and return to the positions they had occupied the previous year. The Wiking Division was involved in a terrible winter retreat, characterized by bitter fighting against the enemy and against glacial cold, suffering additional heavy losses, managing to pull the survivors of that terrible adventure across the Mius river. The chronology of events is told through direct testimony of the participants, period war reports and original documents, all accompanied as always by an exceptional host of images, maps and documents taken from military archives throughout the world and from highly respected private archives, all designed to make treatment of the subject more compelling.

The SS-Division Wiking in the Caucasus 1942-1943by Massimiliano Afiero (Author)

In the summer of 1942, German forces resumed their attack on the Eastern Front, this time concentrating exclusively on the southern sector, with the objective of conquering Stalingrad and the Caucasus.

After having been engaged in the recapture of Rostov, the Wiking Division penetrated deeply into the Cuacasus, crossing many rivers that criss-crossed that area, facing thousands of ambushes and thousands of encounters against an enemy that was increasingly battle-tested, tough and impossible to pin down. Throughout this new campaign there lacked, in fact, the sweeping maneuvers of annihilation of the Soviet forces that had characterized the 1941 summer campaign.This time, the Soviet commands and soldiers learned to withdraw and regroup their forces in order to launch ferocious counterattacks, adding skill to their courage. Despite everything, the SS troops were able to reach the far-off Asiatic regions, threatening to reach the shores of the Caspian Sea. The terrain conditions, the strong enemy resistance, logistics problems and heavy losses slowed down the ambitions of the SS and of all of the German forces.

With the deterioration of the situation on the Stalingrad front, the German forces in the Caucasus were forced to withdraw rapidly to avoid being trapped themselves and it was only due to the stoic stand made by Von Paulus’ German forces that enabled them to save themselves, given them time to pull back to the north and return to the positions they had occupied the previous year.The Wiking Division was involved in a terrible winter retreat, characterised by bitter fighting against the enemy and against glacial cold, suffering additional heavy losses, managing to pull the survivors of that terrible adventure across the Mius river. The chronology of events is told through direct testimony of the participants, period war reports and original documents, all accompanied as always by an exceptional host of images, maps and documents taken from military archives throughout the world and from highly respected private archives, all designed to make treatment of the subject more compelling.

Massimiliano Afiero is a historical researcher on the Axis forces of the Second World War, and for at least thirty years has contributed to numerous military history magazines, publishing hundreds of articles and about thirty books, with particular emphasis on Waffen-SS units.

Contents:1. The SS Division Wiking in the Caucasus, 1942-1943

2. The new offensive on the Eastern FrontThe Initiation of Fall BlauA New Armoured Battalion for the Wiking DivisionOrders for the Wiking

3. The march towards RostovCombat Engineers in ActionPanzers on the Attack

The author has used a great number of photos (many of soldiers in the fields and portraits of individuals), testimonies, maps and action reports and put it all together into an excellent volume of the battle the Caucasus. Many of the images contained in the book are action shot that may help the diorama builder with ideas and the rest is very useful for modellers.

Massimiliano Afiero was born in Afragola (Naples Province) in 1969. Massimiliano is a computer programmer and teacher, but has long been a serious historian of World War II. He has been extremely active in writing articles for many history magazines in his native Italian, Spanish, and English. You can also find him as an active participant in many military history websites. Massimiliano has personally interviewed many Waffen-SS veterans and has published their experiences in World War II. He published his first book, 'Hitler's Foreign Volunteers', in September 2001, and has now amassed 33 published books. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief of the magazine SGM (Second World War), Ritterkreuz, The European Volunteer, Fronti Warning, and The Axis Forces. You can find his website at http://www.maxafiero.it/main.htm

This tome was originally published in November 2015 by the Associazione culturale Ritterkreuz as "La SS-Division Wiking nel Caucaso 1942-1943 and has now been brought by MMP to us in the English language instead of the original Italian. This 'War Fronts' special original edition was 100 pages in length.

Wiking Division was one of the 38 Waffen SS elite panzer divisions. Commanded by German officers, this volunteer division used recruits from Belgium, Denmark Estonia, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. Originally a motorized infantry division, their role changed to a Panzer division in January 1941. The Wiking Division was originally composed of three regiments: Germania composed primarily of Germans; Westland, composed of Flemish and Dutch volunteers; and Nordland, composed of Danes, Norwegians, and Swedes. After training, the division was sent into combat in June 1941 to participate in Operation Barbarossa. Later on a Finnish volunteer Battalion was formed from Finns that had served in Operation Barbarossa.

After surviving Operation Barbarossa, the SS Division Wiking was sent to the Eastern Front's southern sector to capture the Caucasus' oil fields and Stalingrad. Massimiliano Afiero covers this second campaign from the summer of 1942 through February 1943. The SS Division Wiking pushed hard and deep into the Caucasus against a much stiffer Russian defense from the 1941 campaign. Then winter set in. The SS Division Wiking then became involved in protecting the winter retreat back to the original front. Massimiliano Afiero uses first-hand accounts that reveal the blunt reality that the SS Division Wiking faced.

The Table of Contents includes the following sections:

The SS Division Wiking in the Caucasus, 1942, 1943

The New Offensive of the Eastern Front

The Initiation of Fall Blau

A New Armoured Battalion for the Wiking Division [Page 7]

Orders for the Wiking

The March Towards Rostov

Combat Engineers in Action

Panzers on the Attack [Page 33]

Towards the Caucasus

On the March Towards Asia

The Kuban Front

The Battle for Kropotkin

Continued Fighting at Grigoropolisskaya

The March Resumes

On Towards Maykop

The Finns Arrive [Page 53]

On the Terek Front

In the Kurp Valley [Page 68]

The Attack of the Panzers

The Attack of the Nordland

The Battle Continues

The Arrival of the Germania

The Attack Against Malgobek

The Inferno on Hill 701 [Page 86]

More New Orders

Reorganization in the Field [Page 92]

Withdrawal to the North

The Battle at Zimovniki

Rearguard Actions [Page 103]

On the Manych Front

The Withdrawal to Rostov

The Knight's Cross for Max Schafer

The Proletarskaya Bridgehead

The Battle for Ekaterinovka [Page 115]

The Retreat Continues

The Station at Tselina [Page 120]

Yegorlykskaya and Mechetinskaya

A Race Against Time

On the Rostov-On-Don Bridgehead

Return to the Mius [Page 140]

Bibliography, Sources, and Photographic References

One section that caught my attention was "The Withdrawal to Rostov" recounting an action that led to the Knight's Cross being awarded to Max Schafer. Taking place in January 1943, the SS engineers found themselves consistently on the front lines under enemy fire. The Russians had managed to penetrate the German lines in the midst of a snowstorm when the blasts of gunfire were heard amongst the shouts of alarm. Facing ten to one odds, Max Schafer, had a big decision to make. Never shy about leading from the front, Max Schafer's question was if the Russian attack was being supported by Soviet T-34 tanks. His NCOs responded that they had not seen any to that point. Max Schafer's response was to immediately counter attack. The Russians were caught totally off-guard and paid a heavy price. Max Schafer's decision allowed the Germans to avoid being totally surrounded and enabled an orderly withdrawl.

Massimiliano Afiero has delivered a great insight into the German's second campaign on the Eastern Front utilizing testimonies, action reports, maps, and of course photographs. The photographs, including many action shots, provide a good basis for the modeler for dioramas. I counted 339 black and white photographs along with 16 black and white maps. Mushroom Model Publications' has provided a page by page preview at: http://mmpbooks.biz/ksiazki/347 .

My thanks to Mushroom Model Publications and IPMS/USA for the chance to review this great book.